Middlesbrough have received a huge boost in their chances of landing Wolves’ Ryan Giles after it was revealed via reports from ‘The Athletic’ that the Midlands club were in talks to sign West Ham United full-back, Aaron Cresswell.
It is unlikely that the 33-year-old would arrive from London to play a bit part at Wolverhampton Wanderers and so, it calls into question the future of Ryan Giles; a player who has been on loan no fewer than eight times already.
The left-back enjoyed an excellent season with Boro last season, managing eleven assists and forming a deadly link up with Championship top scorer Chuba Akpom. The club has recently sold defender Marc Bola to Turkish side Trabsonspor, who was used as back up to Giles last season. With only Hayden Coulson-who had mixed reviews about his impact on loan at Aberdeen-and youngster, Bryant Billongo as replacements, it appears Middlesbrough are pinning their hopes on Ryan Giles’ return.
Reports in The Daily Mail Online suggested that Luton Town were also interested in the full-back and a fee of around £5m was being weighed up by both clubs.
It is difficult to know whether the sale of Bola should be seen as anything other than the club identifying that he is not the answer at left-back whether Giles signs or not, but it suggests to me that the club are confident of recruiting a replacement of some sort, otherwise they would not have sanctioned the move. The club clearly have some faith in Hayden Coulson, hence the recent contract extension and it should be pointed out that Jonathan Woodgate started him regularly in his time as Boro Boss, but he will surely not be first choice left-back at this current moment in time.
If Wolves do prefer to sell Giles permanently, it is unlikely that the price tag of £5m would prove a stumbling block for the Teesside club, especially given the stats he produced last season. Playing so high up the pitch and providing attacking support, he was also able to work on and develop his defensive game with coach-and former centre-back-Woodgate. The only issue Boro face is that Premier League new boys, Luton Town will have plenty of bargaining power and if it becomes a bidding war, the may hold the aces.
If both clubs meet the desired asking price for the exciting full-back, Middlesbrough will have to hope that the pull of a well established relationship with the club, staff and players outweighs the attraction of playing in The premier League.